Zero hours
Zero hours contracts are sometimes used by employers that require flexibility in their workforce, for example where the need for workers is unpredictable. Under a zero hours contract, the employer is not obliged to offer the worker a set number of hours. Their use has attracted controversy and in 2013 the government outlined plans to restrict the use of “exclusivity clauses” whereby workers are stopped from working for other employers.
One in six workers are in insecure, low-paid jobs
One sixth of UK workers – around 5.1 million people – are in insecure, low-paid work, according to new research....
Mayfair club kitchen porters call for the Living Wage
The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has urged one of London’s most exclusive membership clubs to ensure its...
Lifelong learning provision is inadequate, claims Lords committee
The government must rethink its approach to lifelong learning and ensure that it educates younger people for longer working lives,...
Outsourcing giant faces protests over payroll upgrade
The outsourcing company ISS faces protests today over changes to its payroll system that will see it withhold the pay...
Top 10 HR questions March 2019: Anonymous witness rights
If a witness in a disciplinary procedure wishes to remain anonymous, how can the employer balance their privacy against the...
The Good Work Plan: how should employers prepare?
In December 2018, the government set out the reforms it planned to introduce as part of the Good Work Plan,...
How has Brexit impacted employment legislation?
The number of business-related laws passed in 2018 fell by 27%, according to research by Thomson Reuters. With civil service...
Outsourced Whitehall support workers to strike over low pay
Cleaners, receptionists and security guards at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)...
Employment study debunks migrant worker myth
Immigrants have been among the main beneficiaries of the employment boom but not at the expense of workers born in...
Ireland on track to end zero-hour contracts
The Irish government has said it will end most zero-hour contracts in the country by summer as its Employment (Miscellaneous...
Top 10 HR questions October 2018: annual leave and sickness absence
How should employers deal with annual leave entitlement for employees on long-term sick leave? This issue is dealt with in...
Three-quarters of staff experience pay ‘volatility’
Almost three-quarters (73%) of workers see their income fluctuate from month to month, with lower earners at more risk of...
Nearly half of zero-hours workers want regular shifts
Almost half of people on zero-hours contracts want to work more hours and in a more regular shift pattern, but...
From Uber to Deliveroo via Pimlico: The search for clarity on the gig economy
In recent cases it has become apparent that Uber, City Sprint, Deliveroo and Pimlico Plumbers had each created contracts that purported to ensure that their “partners” – the drivers, cyclists and plumbers – were classed as “self employed”
Most employers back idea for stable contract requests
Two-thirds of employers back the introduction of a right for agency workers and zero-hours contract workers to request a stable...
